Columbus (OH) Police use of squad car laptops
The Columbus (Ohio) Police Department has outfitted nearly all 300 of its squad cars with touch screen laptop computers. Only $1.7 million of the $8 million cost was from city funds, with the rest coming from federal and state grants. The computers allow officers to run license plate checks, pull up mug shots and use GIS mapping while in their vehicles. In the next system upgrade, officers will be able to prepare reports and run LiveScan fingerprint checks while on the road.
Source: "Casting a 'Net for criminals; Computers put the Columbus force on a fast track to fight crime" by Mark Gillispie; Plain Dealer (Cleveland, OH) June 2, 2002, Pg. B1
Pennsylvania computer crime task force formed
A computer crime task force was recently formed by state and local law enforcement in Pennsylvania to fight crimes ranging from online fraud to child pornography. Funding for the task force came from a Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD) grant. The task force involves 11 counties in southcentral and southeast Pennsylvania: Adams, Berks, Chester, Cumberland, Dauphin, Franklin, Lancaster, Lebanon, Perry, Schuylkill and York. A State Police press release explains additional task forces will be formed for the rest of the state.
Source: "A crackdown on computer crime here; State police regional program targets everything from fraud to child porn" by Ryan Robinson; Lancaster (PA) New Era, June 3, 2002, Pg. A1
Fingerprint database solves 1973 Conn. murder
A man was recently found guilty of the 1973 stabbing death of a 21-year-old woman in a New Haven parking garage, based largely on a fingerprint match made through the Connecticut State Police database by the State's Attorneys Office Cold Case Squad. The squad has solved six of the 18 homicides it has worked on over the past five years. The homicide had been one of the state's most infamous unsolved crimes, with numerous suspects, twists and turns over the years.
Sources: "29 Years Later, A Guilty Verdict; Waterbury Man, 59, Convicted of Killing Penney Serra in 1973" by Christopher Keating; Hartford (CT) Courant, May 29, 2002, Pg. A and "Former auto worker convicted in 29-year-old murder case;" The Associated Press State & Local Wire, May 29, 2002
Merced (CA) County gets crime fighting technology
Merced County, California has received digital cameras, global positioning satellite units, flatbed scanners and other equipment to help fight agricultural crime. The County Agricultural Commissioner's office, the District Attorney's office and the Sheriff's Department have joined the federally funded Agricultural Crime Technology Information and Operations Network (ACTION) , designed to reduce crime through improved sharing of information in the San Joaquin Valley. The $15 million in thefts in that eight county region over the last three years range from beehives and tractors to expensive agricultural chemicals.
Source: "Ag Crime Fighters Go High-Tech; Sophisticated Gear Will Aid Effort in Merced County" by Mike Conway; Modesto (CA) Bee, May 29, 2002, Pg. D1
Mundelein (IL) Police purchase LiveScan
The Mundelein (Illinois) Police Department is purchasing a LiveScan fingerprinting system that will allow booking prints and photos to be sent automatically to the Illinois State Police Bureau of Identification and the FBI's National Crime Information Center (NCIC). Results from FBI fingerprint checks will now be received in as little as 45 minutes, compared to the weeks it often took to get results of fingerprints submitted on paper cards. The new system will also be used for employee background checks and Immigration and Naturalization Service fingerprinting requirements.
Source: “Ink giving way to scanners for fingerprinting” by Russell Lissau; Chicago (IL) Daily Herald, May 23, 2002
Orange County (NC) Sheriff's Office Web site debuts
After nine months of work, the Orange County (North Carolina) Sheriff's Office Web site has come online. It offers a most wanted list as well as information on frequently asked questions about the Sheriff's Office, the jail facility, how to contact crisis counselors, deputies and investigators, and how to apply for gun permits. More information is being added to the site daily, and future site upgrades will offer neighborhood crime reports.
Source: "Orange sheriff's office Web site nearing its debut" by Beth Velliquette; Chapel Hill (NC) Herald, May 20, 2002, Pg. 1
